


Love Is A Four Letter Word

by JonicOwnsMyHeart



Category: The Resident (TV 2018)
Genre: Family, Hurt/Comfort, Near Death Experiences, Other, Parenthood, Polyamory, Possible Character Death, Pregnancy, Risky Pregnancy, Surrogacy, Troubled Past, medical complications
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:01:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23795053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JonicOwnsMyHeart/pseuds/JonicOwnsMyHeart
Summary: After being turned down for adoption due to their troubled pasts Jude and Conrad fear there is no hope of starting a family, however that all changes when Nic offers to help them fulfill their dreams of becoming parents. They face many ups and downs but things get complicated when the three begin to fall for each other throughout the pregnancy.
Relationships: Conrad Hawkins/Jude Silva, Conrad Hawkins/Jude Silva/Nicolette Nevin, Conrad Hawkins/Nicolette Nevin, Nicolette Nevin/Jude Silva
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	Love Is A Four Letter Word

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic on this account I'm trying stuff out so please bare with me. I want to thank everyone in the fanfic gc I love you guys so much. Thank you for all your help with everything so far! Also yes I know that I capitalised all the words in the title. Why? Because I'm weird sorry lmao

Conrad sat on the couch, the letter clutched tightly in his hands, he promised Jude he would wait for him to get home but he couldn't take it anymore, he just had to know. Their whole future rested in this envelope and he couldn't look at it any longer. He slowly opened it and began to read. He skimmed passed the formalities and skipped right to the important part. _Unfortunately your application has been denied due to the failure to pass the background checks regarding previous criminal offenses._ His hands started shaking, tears burned hot in his eyes but he angrily blinked them away. 

Jude had just returned home from a long and stressful day at work, however he quickly forget his own issues as soon as he saw the look on Conrad's face, he looked so defeated. "What's wrong?" He asked as he came and sat down beside him on the couch, gently putting his arm around him, he could feel the tension in his shoulders before he gently pushed him away and handed him the letter. 

"It's a rejection letter. We're not going to be able to adopt." He got up and started pacing, he just felt defeated.

"We still have options." Jude tried to assure him although it felt more like he was trying to assure himself. This was hard on him too, they had both wanted this for so long and it seemed things always went wrong in some way or another. He could see Conrad's annoyance become more prevalent, he knew that Conrad wasn't the optimist in this relationship so he decided some words of comfort wouldn't be enough, he would have to suggest other options. "What about a surrogate?" He suggested.

"Do you really think any reputable agencies will accept us either? We both have criminal records and we aren't finding some randomer who's desperate for money because they'll probably take our money and run off with the kid." He was frustrated, mistakes they had made when they were young were getting in the way of their future. Assault charges didn't go away even if they were just young and stupid, even if no one was seriously injured. 

"We can fix this I-" Jude didn't even get a chance to get the words out and finish what he wanted to say before Conrad had interrupted him. 

"No. This isn't going to work I-I just need to clear my head." He didn't give Jude the chance to argue before he just walked out, grabbing his phone and his coat along the way. 

Jude decided not to bother Conrad, he had to just let him have his space, however that was easier said than done, he was a worrier and although he had grown out of his bad temper for the most part he knew Conrad had a long way to go before getting to that point, so as the evening slowly droned on into nightfall he decided to try and call him. He was greeted with a voicemail _I'm either working or ignoring you, don't leave a message unless it's actually important._ He couldn't help but smile to himself when he heard it, Conrad was just so unapologetically himself, he was the reason that they had been able to come out and go public with their relationship. Jude still remembered it so vividly. 

_It was a slower day in the ER but still everyone avoided the infamous Q word.. They were all standing around the nurses station some going back and forth to treat common colds, sprained ankles, the occasional heart trouble. The topic switched to relationships, the hospital was notorious for gossip, especially surrounding Conrad and Nic and their epic failure at being friends with benefits. "I haven't seen you two sneak off into a supply closet in awhile." Irving joked as he glanced over to them. Nic was visibly uncomfortable and so was Jude but Conrad on the other hand didn't seem phased at all._

_"That ended months ago, not that it wasn't fun while it lasted" he smirked, leaning against the desk. He seemed casual, calm and collected like he always did._

_"You expect us to believe you went months without sex? No offense but you did get around." Mina chimed in as her eyes drifted to Nic and Jude who were now trying to play it cool, she could tell something was up. Nic knew about them but she was the only one who knew and she had found out accidentally._

_"I don't know why you're so interested in my sex life but if you most know I've been in a relationship for awhile now and it's been great"_

_"Who's the lucky lady?" AJ asked, sounding mostly sarcastic when he said "lucky"_

_"You're looking at him" he said as he gestured to Jude. "Although I wouldn't consider him much of a lady."_

_"No way." Irving blurted out in surprise which earned him a stern look from both Devon and Jessica._

_"You need proof?" he walked to Jude, who was now blushing a shade of red he didn't think was humanly possible and without a moment's hesitation Conrad gently pulled him close and kissed him passionately. Everyone was staring but Conrad didn't seem to care and although Jude was nervous they had agreed to go public already and something about the way Conrad held him gave him a sense of comfort. He gently pulled away but kept hold of Jude's hand, Irving was about to ask a question but Conrad stopped him. "Don't even think about asking what I know you're going to ask." He rolled his eyes playfully._

Jude wished for Conrad to hold him like that again in that moment, he was worried, his calls kept going to voicemail and he knew Conrad had been taking this hard, they had tried every legal and ethical option to become parents. They had wanted a family so badly and now that seemed to be a dream that was much too far from reality to ever be reached. He just kept calling, hoping that Conrad would eventually get tired of ignoring him and call back, although he knew it was unlikely since stubborn was practically Conrad's middle name but he at least hoped he would keep himself out of trouble, that was a slightly less unrealistic goal. 

Rain belted down heavily outside as Conrad walked the streets, he had been looking for a quiet bar so he could drink in peace, the horrible weather seemed to reflect on his mood. He had always wanted a family, he wanted to give his children everything. He wanted to be the kind of father that he had dreamed Marshall would be. Finally after what seemed like an eternity of walking through rainfall and dodging Jude's calls he found a rundown bar. It was on the rougher side of town but that didn't trouble him, he could easily handle himself and he needed the quiet. 

He pushed open the old rusted door which creaked loudly and took several hard pushes to even open. As soon as the door opened the smell of beer, cigarettes and what can only be described as the inside of a gas station bathroom hit him full force, almost making him want to leave. He decided to stay though, after all the beer was cheap, it was quiet and by now almost everyone was staring. He sat down on the bar stool with the least questionable stains on it and ordered a beer. The bartender reluctantly slammed the beer onto the bar and took the money. Conrad didn't care, he didn't come for the hospitality, in fact he preferred that they seemed to keep their distance. 

He had no idea that this was a wrong place - wrong time moment. This was a bar that hardly ever saw outsiders and was a known gang related area. That night they had been expecting someone from the rival gang to make an appearance, Conrad was the only outsider in sight so it was an easy assumption. 

A broad-shouldered man approached him, he appeared to be much taller and more capable to fight than Conrad however he misunderstood Conrad's skill and aggression. "You?" He scoffed. "Carlos sent you?" 

"What?" Conrad asked abruptly, clearly not in the mood for whatever kind of games this man was playing. 

"Don't play dumb with me. If this is his idea of a warning then he really needs to work on it" He laughed a little, seeming to find amusement from the whole situation, he thought he would easily break Conrad in half. 

"Look I'm just trying to have a beer, I had a long day." His patience was growing thin this guy was way too confident and Conrad was already thinking of all the ways he could injure him. The guy took the beer from him and poured it out onto the floor before tossing the bottle aside, causing it to shatter into millions of little pieces across the bar floor. This was it, Conrad had finally reached his breaking point. He stood up from the stool. "That's it" he mumbled more so to himself. 

"Oh no. What will I do now boys?" the guy asked, clearly pretending to be afraid, even stumbling back a bit for dramatic effect before laughing. "You think I'm afraid of you? I could kill you with my bare hands if I wanted to." he said before turning back to his group of friends clearly just trying to show off. Conrad was going to argue with him, maybe even just make a quick exit but it seemed something in him had just snapped, he kicked the man into the back of the legs causing him to drop to his knees. then he grabbed him by the throat. 

Everyone watched in shock for a moment, one of the men pulled out a gun but the other stopped him, there couldn't be any killings, they couldn't risk retaliation. Either way the gun didn't even seem to phase Conrad, he looked like he was going to kill one of their top guys. It took three men to pull him off and even then he was still managing to fight them off until a fourth man stabbed him, he made sure not to hit anything vital but he also made sure it was deep enough to cause significant pain and bleeding. The men proceeded to take turns punching and kicking him, the man who he had in the choke hold was especially violent, then they pulled him up and physically threw him outside. 

Pain radiated throughout his entire body, he just laid on the cold pavement for a moment, letting the cold rain burn his skin, it seemed to give him a jolt of energy. He pressed his hand to the stab wound on his left side and stumbled in the direction of Chastain, of course he wasn't going to call for help, that would be just unnecessary fuss and Jude would panic if he found out he was brought in by ambulance. 

As he stumbled into the ER Nic was the first one to spot him, she was by his side within seconds and got him to an examination room within minutes. "Take off your shirt I need to exam where all this bleeding is coming from" 

"If you want to see me naked you know you can just ask." He said sarcastically as he took off his shirt, earning him a playfully eye roll from her. 

"So what did you do this time?" she asked as she carefully began to clean his wound. 

"What makes you think it was my fault?" he asked, wincing slightly at the pain. 

"Sit still." She spoke sternly but soft, gently placing her free hand on his shoulder to keep him in place before continuing. "These things are usually your fault, we both know that whenever you have a problem you always manage to find a stupid solution." It was one of the reasons they hadn't worked out as anything more than friends with benefits and even though she knew she would always love him it was in more of a platonic way now. "You're lucky, the bleeding was superficial and I can stitch this up for you myself but I still want to give you a full physical workup and keep you here for at least a few hours for observation, just to rule out internal bleeding" 

"No. I'm fine, if Jude finds out I'm here he'll lose it and I-" 

However almost as if just on cue Jude walked in. He had been calling every hospital in the nearby area in case Conrad had got injured and he had been waiting at Chastain because he knew if Conrad had a choice he would definitely go there "What the hell were you thinking?!" 

"I'll give you two a minute" Nic said before making a quick exit, however not fast enough to not hear what Jude had to say next. 

"Being rejected for adoption is the least of our worries. How could I raise a child with someone so-so reckless?! With no disregard for your own life!" he was angry and he knew he shouldn't yell but it was the fear talking. 

"I'm sorry" Conrad mumbled, looking down, he couldn't look him in the eye, not when he knew he was right. "You're right, it's my fault.. all of this has been my fault.. I just wanted a family and now I don't have that option because I made one stupid mistake when I was 18" 

"I made mistakes too, this isn't your fault" he sat down at the edge of the bed, his tone suddenly softening. 

"But you were still a minor, your records are sealed, this is on me, I screwed up our chances at having a family" he couldn't help it as the tears began to fall, he never let himself be vulnerable, only around certain people and even then it was rare so Jude knew this was really affecting him. They had both wanted this, especially because of their own terrible childhoods, they wanted to give a kid two loving parents, they wanted to build a home and a little family and it seemed like they would never have that chance now. 

"We will always be a family as long as we have each other" Jude said as he gently wiped away his tears. 

"But it's just not the same" Conrad mumbled, looking away from him. 

Nic couldn't stand out in that hallway and listen to this anymore, it wasn't fair that they were denied something they had both wanted for so long. She walked in and before she had a chance to organise her thoughts or even consider what she would be getting herself into, she blurted out. "I want to help you. I could have your baby" 

Jude and Conrad shared a look. "What?" they had asked in unison clearly in shock and suddenly Nic's fleeting thought had become a much more real concept...


End file.
